On-the-farm with On-Farm Climate Action Fund: Prince Edward Island cereal and oilseed farmers get the drop on liquid fertilizer kits and enhanced efficiency fertilizers

Kyler (left) and Jeff (right) Weeks received OFCAF funding to purchase enhanced efficiency fertilizers and a liquid fertilizer kit to attach to their no-toll seeding drill.

As a father-son farming duo, Jeff and Kyler Weeks aren’t afraid of trying new things on their 1000-acre farm of corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and oats in Hazel Grove, Prince Edward Island. Especially when it can benefit the environment and help them be profitable.

In 2021, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) launched the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), a program that supports farmers in adopting beneficial management practices that store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases, specifically in the areas of nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing practices. On Prince Edward Island, OFCAF funding is distributed by the PEI Federation of Agriculture.

Jeff and Kyler became early adopters of OFCAF the year it launched after hearing about the program during a presentation at a conference in Summerside.

“The enhanced efficiency fertilizer was the first thing we started using with our corn, wheat, and barley through the program,” said Kyler.

Enhanced efficiency fertilizers provide nitrogen to plants as they need it over a period of time and reduce nitrogen loss from plants and soil. Recent research revealed that farmers adopting the use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers could maintain their current yields and profitability at the same input costs, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping 30% or more.

The no till seeder shown above was fitted with a liquid fertilizer kit in 2025 to apply phosphorus with the winter wheat seed during planting.

“We probably couldn’t purchase this type of fertilizer without funding from OFCAF. It’s an environmental gain and it’s a gain for our farm too because we can mix it with our pre-plant and some will release to the crops now and some will release later, saving us from having to drive over the field again to reapply,” said Kyler.

Jeff also explained that having only one pass in the field reduces soil compaction and tracking where the tractor tires flatten the growing crops and reduce yields.

In early 2025, the Weeks received OFCAF funding to purchase a liquid fertilizer kit. The kit attaches to the side of the no-till drill they use to plant their winter wheat crop and drips a small amount of phosphorus into the seed trench along with the seed.

“We hope that precision application will give us a bigger root system right off the start and help with yields,” explained Kyler.

To the Weeks, applying to OFCAF has been simple with the ongoing support from the PEI Federation of Agriculture.

“We were already thinking about purchasing the liquid fertilizer kit and then at a PEI Young Farmers event, I found out that it can be funded as part of OFCAF after a presentation from the PEI Federation of Agriculture. I went home and put in the application that night.”

The Weeks’ positive experience with OFCAF is far from an outlier for farmers across Prince Edward Island. As applications remain open through the PEI Federation of Agriculture, OFCAF continues to help farmers get to the root of sustainability by increasing adoption of climate-smart practices.